One of classical music’s most versatile figures will help the Northern New York Orchestra launch its 34th season.
Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, will perform with the orchestra in his live performances at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Hosmer Hall in SUNY Potsdam and at 3 p.m. Sunday at First Presbyterian Church, 403 Washington St., Watertown .
Mr. McGill will perform Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major.
Mcgill
The program also includes Mozart’s Overture to Cosi fan tutte, K. 588; Elegy d’Herbert: In Memoriam Stephen Lawrence (1999); and Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 73, Mvt 1, Allegro.
Mr. McGill, the first African-American principal player of the New York Philharmonic, also pursues a dynamic international career in solo and chamber music. He is a strong advocate for helping music education reach underserved communities and addressing issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in classical music. He was honored to participate in the inauguration of President Barack Obama in 2009, creating a piece written for the occasion by John Williams and performing alongside violinist Itzhak Perlman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and pianist Gabriela Montero.
Mr. McGill performs regularly as a soloist with the best orchestras in North America, including the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera, the Baltimore Symphony, the San Diego Symphony and the Kansas City Symphony.
He is on the faculty of the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, the Bard College Conservatory of Music, and the Manhattan School of Music.
ONNY’s season continues on December 17, 18 and 19 with “Comfort and Joy”, as the orchestra celebrates the season with holiday favorites such as “Sleigh Ride”, selections from “The Nutcracker”, “Fantasia on Greensleeves” and a musical journey and reading of “The Night Before Christmas”.
The holiday concerts will take place on December 17 at 7:30 p.m. at Hosmer Hall, with locations for December 18 and 19 to be announced, although the December 19 concert will be held in Watertown.
Due to financial constraints, there will be no baroque concert this winter.
Spring ‘Magnificence’
This spring, ONNY will present “The Magnificence of the Earth,” featuring the premiere of a new work by composer Gregory Wanamaker, “Still Life in Motion,” commissioned specifically for the orchestra and made possible through a grant from the program. individual artist from the New York State Council on the Arts.
The program will also include Mendelssohn’s Overture to the Hebrides (Cave of Fingals), op. 26; Far Land by Rutter (1991) and La Création du monde by Milhaud, op. 81a (1922-23).
The spring concert will also present a work by Constantine Darie and his work “Waves”. The concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. on April 2 at the Hosmer Hall in SUNY Potsdam and at 3 p.m. on April 3 in the First Presbyterian Church in Watertown.
Next July, with dates to be announced, the Northern New York Orchestra will close its 34th season with its ever-popular summer concert “Pops”, celebrating “Adventures in Space!
As usual, the first half of the program will be an annual tribute to veterans and active military personnel. The second half of the concert will feature selections from “Star Trek”, “Apollo 13”,
“Star Wars” and more.
Also at the concert, a new work funded by the Flynn Family Foundation and created by famous composer Paul Siskind will be presented in honor of Mrs. Geraldine Flynn’s grandmother, Poquoson, Va. “Anna’s Song” will be a pastoral piece illustrating the wide open spaces of the St. Lawrence River valley where the family settled generations ago.
n WHAT: The Orchestra of Northern New York’s 34th season.
n WHEN: Starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Hosmer Hall in SUNY Potsdam and 3:00 p.m. Sunday at First Presbyterian Church, 403 Washington St., Watertown.
n FEATURED: Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic.
n TICKETS: Adult tickets for the new season remain at the 2019 price of $ 27 per person. A discount of $ 3 per ticket is available for seniors, military personnel and veterans and, new this year, for all first responders and healthcare workers as a small token of appreciation from ONNY for everything. what they did during the pandemic. Other single tickets cost $ 10 for students upon presentation of ID, $ 5 for teens 13 to 17, and free for children 12 and under. Season tickets are also available at a 15% discount. For more information or to purchase individual season or concert tickets, visit www.onny.org, Brick & Mortar Music, 15 Market Street in Potsdam, or the Performing Arts Center ticket office in SUNY Potsdam. Or call the orchestra at 315-267-2277.
